Product description

After the failure of the Betelgeuse colonisation mission, Kim is back on Earth, where she is an increasingly popular figure. Meanwhile, advance scouts on planet Antares have witnessed some distressingly strange events. Worried about the future of this new mission, the sponsors of the Antares project call upon Kim to accompany the first colonists, offering legal amnesty for Alexa and Mark in exchange. It's the beginning of a new adventure for the young woman and her friends.

Author information

Leo has illustrated an album about the life of Gandhi, published by Editions Centurion, and collaborated with scriptwriter Rodolphe on the TrentA" series published by Dargaud in France. He launched Aldebaran,A" which he writes and draws, in 1993.

Customer reviews

Leo has done it again! He has created another brilliant set of stories taking place in the Aldebaran universe. I had been hooked to this on going series after reading Aldebran (vol 1-3) and haven't looked back since. After he finished Aldebaran, he gave us an arguably better story with the whole Betelgeuse story. And with Antares, even though i'm only two episode's in - is looking like the equal of Betelguese - if not better!

The first episode deal's with a new colonisation mission about to take place on Antares. The opening pages show a small group of human's on Antares who are tasked with finding out if the world is suitable for colonisation. The group consisting of two male and a female; are witness to a strange occurance when an animal disappear's in front of their bewildered eyes. Things get even more weirder when the woman is stung by what she think's is an insect but is in actual fact a very small mechanical device resembling a helicopter! Just what in the hell is going on?

Even though the organisation heading the colonisation programme (Forward Enterprises) back on earth find out about the problem's, their leader's, brother's Elijah and Jedediah Thornton decide to still go ahead. Both of them, especially the latter are part of a sinister religious cult and are intent on going ahead with the mission even though their ship is unsuitable for space travel. At the same time our heroine Kim Keller is also on earth. She is staying with a friend in Paris and has become something of celebrity after her Aldebran and Betelgeuse exploit's. She is seen as a 'superhero' because of her long life-span thanks to her Mantris encounters (see Aldebaran Vol 3). Forward Enterprises want Kim Keller to head their expedition to Antares but she is reluctant - until they offer her a proposal which she cannot turn down. But on a routine check up she find's out that she is pregnant - but by whom? And how is it possible since she has not had a relationship with anyone for over a year?

The answer to these question's are revelatory and the consequence this entail's is simply astonishing. There is a nice moment in the comic when we see Kim and friend watching 2001: A Space Odyssey together. I thought it was a very welcome touch seeing as there is a lot of similarities between Kubrick's film and this comic - such as the slow burning science fiction drama and alien influence.

As expected from the series, the artwork is simply superb by Leo; his flora and fauna of Antares is more exotic, menacing and alien than on previous books. I simply cannot recommend this series enough! It is without doubt one of the best science-fiction stories via the comic book medium in recent years and is not to be missed!